Sam's Travels In Exotic China  - The Middle Kingdom

The first most Europeans heard about China were from the writings of Marco Polo in the 13th century, of an exotic kingdom in Asia called China.  While most westerners know little of Chinese history, the self-professed "Middle Kingdom," until English and other western merchants started to open China up for the purpose of trade in the 18th century.

China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia. China has one of the world's oldest people and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia. It has the world's longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions, such as what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham called the "four great inventions of Ancient China": paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing. Historically, China's cultural sphere has extended across East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs, and writing systems being adopted to varying degrees by neighbors such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam. - www.wikipedia.com

China, whose 1.2 billion people represent 23% of the world's population is the most populace on Earth and the third largest based on total area.  China is no longer a secret society hidden behind the Great Walls and closed borders, but a  new and important member of a new world order.  It has overcome adversities of war, occupation, revolution and internal struggle to emerge as a world economic power.  Rich in history and blessed with new economic prosperity, it is a country in transition - embracing its rich heritage yet building for its new position as a major superpower.  it has finally embraced its claim that it is truly "The Middle Kingdom"

Provinces and locations visited in China to date include:

•  Beijing  

•  Fujian Province - Fuzhou, Wuyishan, Xiamen

•  Guangdong Province - Chang'an, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai

•  Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region - Guilin, Longsheng, Yangshuo County

•  Hunan Province - Jishou, Phoenix City, Wangcun, Zhangjiajie

•  Hebei Province - Shijiazhuang

•  Hong Kong SAR - Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, Outlying Islands

•  Liaoning Province - Dalian

•  Macau SAR

•  Shaanxi Province - Xi'an

•  Shanghai

•  Shanxi Province - Ho-pien, Houzhou, Mount Wutai, Nan Long Lin, Pingyao, Qinyuan, Taiyuan

•  Sichuan Province - Chengdu, Dijangyan, Emeishan, Huang Long, Hunglongxi, Leshan, Loudai, FIAP 2006

•  Tianjin Province - Tianjin

•  Tibet - Gyantse, Lhasa, Namtso Lake, Qinghai Tibet Hwy, Qinghai Tibet RR, Shigatse, Yamdrok Yumtso Lake

•  Zhejiang Province - Hangzhou, Ningbo, Pu Jiang County, Yiwu

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Please note that all photographs and text appearing on this site are the exclusive intellectual property of Sam Stearman. No images are within the Public Domain, and no image use is permitted without the written prior authorization of the copyright owner.  If you see any pictures you would like to buy, all the thousands of pictures on this site are available in high resolution digital format, suitable for framing, use in magazines or advertising.  Email me if you would like to know more.

This site was last updated 05/23/05